Here are some emails I got
the last day or two in light of Adrien Broner's most recent performance:

In
light of the farce that took place, it seems as though Broner is developing
into a nice draw in Cincinnati. I emailed the Ohio State Athletic Commission to
find out he had a paid attendance of about 4,300.

I remember you saying you were interested in how well he would draw. It seems
as though the prices were very reasonable. That seems like a pretty decent draw
considering a baseball game was going on and Broner is just cracking the
surface.

S.Morgan

Thanks for the info (and the
exact totals were 4,296 tickets sold for a gate totaling $136,890) and as I've
said before, Broner, like many other young pugilists today, has been shepherded
around the country fighting in different locales (where Golden Boy staged cards).
But during this time, he has also set down some roots in his home city where he
has fought numerous times. And while many others may frown at what took place
this past weekend, everyone loves a winner locally. With the right fights and
consistent action, I think those numbers can and will grow in “The Queen City.”

Hey
Steve,

I’m
a longtime reader who just had to write in to you regarding the Broner weight
situation. I know you have gone on record as someone who is amused or at
least not bothered by Broner’s cockiness, but what do you think about what he
did on Saturday? I usually like fighters with a healthy ego (I was
a big fan of Roy Jones, Naseem Hamed, Lennox Lewis etc.) but I think Broner
completely crossed the line. For the people who say that Escobedo
made his choice, and he took the extra money, I think it is worth reminding
them that had Escobedo walked away, he wouldn’t have just been walking away
from the extra money being offered, he would be walking away from the entire
purse. That is the situation Broner put him in, seemingly
intentionally. I know there is no one out there to punish Broner for it,
but all that crap with his Twitter pictures, essentially boasting a week before
the fight that he wasn’t trying to make weight and would not make weight; I am
in shock that a professional boxer would show that little respect to his
profession and to his opponent. I remember all of the outrage when
Castillo came in heavy for the 3rd fight
with Corrales, but it at least he seemed disgusted with himself for it.
I’m really curious to see if there will be the usual contrarians who will come
out and praise Broner; impressed how he can make his own rules. What are
your thoughts?

-Sean

Sean, you pretty much echo
what I've said from the beginning. What Broner did absolutely crossed the line.
Hey, I like showmen because I've believed for a long time that boxing is just
entertainment and showbiz dressed up as a sport. But when rules are so blithely
circumvented, that's where things are out of bounds. His previous antics never
gave him an unfair competitive advantage; not even attempting to make weight (twice) certainly did.

But as I’ve stated before,
the guy is amusing (some would say downright bizarre if you go on his Twitter
timeline) and he is the type of performer who has you talking about him the
next day at work at the water cooler. I think that's a plus for boxing and his
brand. To me, he's a lot like another guy that plied his trade for years in
Cincinnati, Chad Ochocinco (or did he just recently go back to “Johnson”?) who
would've been just a Pro Bowl receiver on a bad team for years without his shtick.
He turned out to be a guy who became a transcendent figure with endorsement
deals and a “Dancing with the Stars” appearance because of his antics.

You may love or loathe what “The
Problem” brings to the table but many of you simply won’t turn away.

First
off I want to say I love your site... Been keeping track of your work for some
time now (years actually... Lol...)... Also, you may not remember but I had the
honor of meeting and talking to you in Houston for the Morales vs garcia fight
as I worked the media for boxingsocialist.com... Just want to tell you that it
was a great honor to just be in the same group with such a great boxing mind...
I have a lot of respect for your work as a boxing writer...

On
to the fight... Just want to say everything you have said and the responders
have said are all 100% correct... It is pretty obvious escobedo was forced in
more ways than just one I'm sure to go into that fight... That itself is
criminal in my opinion... But also, broner and his teams total lack of respect
and seem to care just really left a bad taste in my mouth.. he seems to now
only have vote. A pass by HBO but also most members of the media...I applaud
you speaking out on this behavior... Correct me if I'm wrong but the kid is
being treated like a superstar and has yet to be a truly credible contender...
To date he has yet to fight someone that there was a question on who would win
the fight...litzau and deleon (whom you can argue rather or not be won) aside
who has he fought of any real substance? Just my opinion but he reminds me of a
fighter from the early 90's by the name of fast Eddie hopson... Remember him?
He too held a paper belt (ibf if I remember correctly) and looked to be the
goods till he faced a real contender in Tracy Harris Patterson.. he got beat
down... Broner reminds me of that kid in a lot of ways from their style of
fighting to the paper belt... Just my two cents... If he is as good as he and
his team says he is... He needs to seriously step up his comp and fight guys
that can truly test him.. he's got a fighter in Lundy calling him out... Lundy
would in my opinion be the best fighter he has fought to date in my opinion...
He's got challenges out there that will give us a true marker of where his
skill set really stands.... Makes you wonder why his teams not seeking out
those challenges... Makes me wonder if they know something they are saving for
the big fight before its exposed.. just a thought...

Anyway
just want to say again love ya work!!! Always a great read..

Jeffrey
D

Jeff, thanks for the gratuitous
praise (that will always get you into my articles) but yeah, I hear ya. For all
his plaudits, Broner is still unproven to a certain degree. I think he's a real
talented guy and it says here that he won’t be physically pushed till he hits
140 pounds and faces the likes of Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse. But it was
pointed out to me on Twitter by Jake Donovan of Boxingscene that it could be
argued that Broner did not face a legitimate top-10 130-pounder during his run.
So while he is naturally gifted, yeah, he still has some résumé building to do.

And please, let’s pump the
brakes on the Broner-Mayweather comparisons for now. At junior lightweight,
Mayweather faced the likes of Genaro Hernandez, Angel Manfredy and Diego
Corrales and thrashed them. Say what you will about Mayweather; before he
cherry-picked opponents as he gained economic leverage, as a young fighter, he
more than handled his business- and always made weight.